SAN MARCOS: Jumping Turtle resumes live music

Restaurant settles lawsuit with city, restarts entertainment

The Jumping Turtle Bar and Grill, a popular San Marcos site for
local and national bands, quietly resumed its music and comedy
lineup last month after receiving a conditional-use permit to offer
live entertainment, settling a yearlong legal dispute with the
city.

"We're very happy, and it's very unfortunate that a lawsuit was
necessary," said Jumping Turtle co-owner Matt Hall.

The Jumping Turtle, which had remained open as a bar and eatery
since the city revoked its entertainment permit in February 2010,
resumed its entertainment schedule with a comedy show April 13.

It will offer comedy shows twice a month, as well as regular
performances of rock, blues and other live music, Hall said.

"What we would like to do is go back to our roots and dedicate
Friday and Saturday nights to live, original, local music," Hall
said. "That's going to be our foremost mission for at least the
next six months, give the local bands a place to play."

Hall and co-owner Laura Mouradian sought to restore live music
to their Capalina Road restaurant since the city revoked the
restaurant's entertainment permit Feb. 9, 2010, after a brawl that
reportedly involved two stabbings and several fights.

Before that decision, the restaurant's owners had sparred with
city officials over alleged violations that included allowing
people under 21 to be present at music events where alcohol was
served, hosting more than two live shows a week, and charging an
entrance fee.

Hall and Mouradian have said that many of the allegations were
either overblown or untrue, and filed a lawsuit against the city on
Feb. 3, 2010 ---- just days before the incident that led the city
to yank their entertainment permit.

In February of this year, the city Planning Commission issued a
conditional-use permit to the restaurant, allowing it to offer live
music after 7 p.m. on weeknights and 6 p.m. on weekends.

However, the permit prohibits the sale or consumption of alcohol
when guests under 21 are present at those shows.

Despite the dispute that led to the restaurant's closure, Hall
said he developed a constructive working relationship with planning
staffers who prepared the permit, and said the finalization of that
document helped resolve the conflicts that led to the lawsuit.

Although City Manager Paul Malone had earlier described the
venue as "a serious threat to the public health, welfare and safety
of San Marcos residents," and the Jumping Turtle owners had sued
the city for alleged violations including defamation, harassment
and deprivation of civil rights, each side agreed to drop its
claims against the other in the settlement agreement approved April
1.

That agreement bound each party in the dispute to refrain from
commenting on the settlement beyond a prepared statement released
along with it.

“The city believes the new (conditional use permit) will allow
the business to operate consistent with city standards,” Malone
stated in the document.

“The Jumping Turtle is pleased to reach an agreement with the
city, which allows us to provide music and entertainment in the
City of San Marcos,” Hall stated.

Hall said he was eager to unveil his plans for the venue.

The Jumping Turtle, he said, aims to be a "music house" that
hosts a global mix of reggae, blues, hard rock, alternative rock,
rockabilly and country-western.

Although the music schedule started with select events, he said,
he hopes to offer entertainment five nights a week by
midsummer.

He said the venue would hold off on all-ages shows and rap
performances ---- two kinds of concerts that had sparked concerns
in the past.

For the first six months, the restaurant would host shows for a
21-and-over audience, Hall said.

And while he said he hopes to stage rap shows in the future,
he's assembling a team of music producers familiar with the genre
who can help with those performances.

"When you introduce hip-hop and rap, you can run into some
problems because of the message," he said. "We will never do any
gangster hip-hop and rap. We will never do the artists that promote
beating women.

"First and foremost, we want to keep our performances safe and
quality, and entertaining."